Meanwhile, Back in Kentucky
by Mad-like
Summary: A familiar face from Sam's past suddenly shows up in McKinley's choir room and Mercedes' words come back to bite her.
1. Sometimes When We Touch

The first thing New Directions noticed was that the girl was holding a guitar. There was a female guitarist in the band, Alice, but she wasn't a girly-girl. If you didn't pay attention, and very few of them did, you'd never notice her behinds the sweatshirt and baggy jeans. But Mercedes knew Alice from church and Alice had even tried to teach Mercedes to play once, with disastrous results.

The second thing they noticed was that the girl was black. Alice is bi-racial and looks it, this girl was definitely black and was sporting a glorious afro to prove it. Between the electric guitar, afro, the tie-dye long shirt, or short dress maybe, the black leggings and thigh-high boots she looked like Jimmy Hendrix reborn. The boys in particular found her extremely interesting.

"Class, we have a new member to audition..."

Rachel's hand shot up like a rocket. "But Mr. Schue, it's so close to Regionals. Do we want to rearrange things so late in the season?"

The girl smiled softly and started running chords with Alice and Ben, other guitarists.

"Yes, that's true Rachel, but most of you are graduating. We need to add some underclassman, Tina and Mercedes will need some help next year. And yes, we won't be changing anything before our remaining competitions."

Rachel smiled, which Mr. Schuester took as permission to proceed. He nodded to the girl and she stepped forward. Sam, late again, slipped into his seat in the front row. The girl's smile slipped a bit but she quickly pasted it back on. Then she stepped over to Brad and spoke to him. He signalled the band to sit back and listen. The girl swapped the electric guitar for an acoustic one, pulled up a stool and started playing.

_At times I'd like to break you  
>And drive you to your knees<br>At times I'd like to break through  
>And hold you endlessly<em>

_At times I understand you_  
><em>And I know how hard you've tried<em>  
><em>I've watched while love commands you<em>  
><em>And I've watched love pass you by<em>

_At times I think we're drifters_  
><em>Still searching for a friend<em>  
><em>A brother or a sister<em>  
><em>But then the passion flares again<em>

_And sometimes when we touch  
>The honesty's too much<br>__And I have to close my eyes and hide  
><em>_I wanna hold you til I die  
>Til we both break down and cry<br>I wanna hold you till the fear in me subsides_

Her voice was deep, raw, untrained. Mercedes thought she was an excellent guitarist with potential, if properly trained, to be a good vocalist. She'd be good addition to New Directions and maybe she was a better guitar teacher than Alice. She was wondering where the girl came from and who she was singing about when Sam stood up and walked towards her like he was hypnotized. The girl did the same. They stopped an arm's length away from each other.

She grinned at him. "Hello, sweetie."

"Hello, Patrice." he answered, trying to maintain an emotionless tone.

"Hello, Patrice?" She seemed angry. "That's all I get? Well, I didn't get a 'goodbye Patrice' so I guess this is progress." She turned and headed towards the band kids.

"I'm sorry." he said, his voice choked with emotion. "Do you forgive me?" He put his hand on her arm. She turned to face him.

"Don't I always?" Then they kissed, a kiss that took Mercedes' breath away. It wasn't a shove your tongue down the throat kiss like Rachel and Finn enjoyed making a show of, it was a melt into each other because I miss you so much kiss. He used to kiss her like that, she'd never kissed Shane like that. The kiss that wrecked her relationship with Shane wasn't half of what Patrice is getting right now. Sam put his arm around her and they walked out.

All eyes were on Mercedes. "Who the hell was that?" Santana demanded.

Mercedes shrugged. She racked her brain looking for a Patrice, Pat, Patricia, Trish, Trixie, Tricia, or girl guitarist. Nothing, Sam had mentioned none of these. "He talks to you" she asked Kurt. "Did he ever mention her?"

"Not a word."

* * *

><p>Patrice watched Sam swim laps in McKinley's pool. Bored, she leaned back and was staring at the ceiling when she felt someone sliding into the bleachers beside her.<p>

"Rachel, Rachel Berry." the short brunette who complained in the audition room thrust her hand at her.

"Patrice Greene." She said grasping the hand with a smile.

"Welcome to McKinley." Rachel seemed to be the spokesperson for the three other girls with her. A regular United Nations, Patrice thought. One was Asian, introduced as Tina, one Latina, Santana, one blonde, Brittany, and the brunette. If they didn't let her in the group she was definitely gonna make an argument about ethnic diversity.

"Thank you. It's a very nice school."

"So how do you know Sam?" the Latina got straight to the point.

"And your name again?"

"Santana. Santana Lopez."

"As in the guitarist Carlos Santana?"

"No, as in Santana Lopez."

"Too bad. Alice said girls don't play guitars around her. Well, just Alice and now me. An all-girl band, awesome idea don't you think?"

"So how is it you know Sam?" Santana repeated. Patrice decided Santana was the one in charge, regardless of what Rachel might think.

"Kentucky. We performed together."

"As in show choir?" Tina asked.

"Something like that."

"You didn't..." Tina's mouth fell open. "Dance?" she whispered. Santana gave the girl an appraising once-over and liked what she saw.

"It was a job." Patrice looked at Santana and Brittany, their long legs entwined. "I saw them perform. They perform for free. I did less with more clothes on and got paid." They watched Sam climb out of the pool. "And people paid to see that."

"Whatever." Santana said. "Sam kinda has a girlfriend. Her name is Mercedes."

"Mercedes is real?" She seemed honestly surprised.

"Of course she's real. Why would he lie about that?"

"In my line of work, my former line of work, you hear a lot of stories. Very few of them are true." Patrice thought about what Sam had said about Mercedes. "Is she a big girl?"

"Yes, and sweet, really sweet." Tina chimed in.

"Hah! White Chocolate."

"What was your name?" Britt asked.

"Sweet Pea." She smiled to herself. "All pigtails and white lace."

"And why are you here so late in the school year?" Santana demanded.

"Family decision. My mom found out about Sweet Pea and was not amused. Sent me up north to live with my cousin Alice."

"Guitar Girl?"

"Alice. Guitar Girl has a name and it's Alice." This was starting to get tedious.

"Don't you have to be 18 to be a stripper?"

"Dancer, not a stripper. And nobody checks your papers. Something to keep in mind. You have the build for it." Patrice hoped a compliment would appease the girl.

"Dancer, stripper. What's the difference?"

"A stripper gets naked. Sam and I never got naked for money."

"You and Sam. Did you get naked for fun?" Santana smiled, thinking about the times she'd been naked with Sam.

"I'm done." Patrice picked up the guitar at her feet and moved away. What was the deal with these girls anyway? The way Sam described it, Mercedes was kind of an outsider, always on the edge. And he'd described Santana in not very nice terms. But Santana was going all mama grizzly one her. Patrice had seen that before, an older dancer taking a younger one under her wing for protection. Did Mercedes need protection?

"I see you've met Patrice." Sam said, walking over from the dressing room, smiling that heartbreaking smile of his.

"Yes, we met your dancing buddy." Santana replied.

"They knew already!" she answered his glance.

"Nothing's a secret around here. You ready to roll, Chi?"

"More than ready, Nash." They linked arms and left the pool.

Shit, Santana thought, they even have pet names for each other. Mercedes was in big trouble.

* * *

><p>"Hi, Rachel! It's Rachel, right? Do you live here too?" Patrice put her guitar down next to the front door of the Hummel household.<p>

"No, my fiancée, Finn does. I thought you might be uncomfortable, being the only girl here for dinner with" she looked around, "Finn, Kurt, Sam and oh, hi Blaine! Their parents are in Washington. His dad's a congressman, did you know that?"

"No I didn't and that's very sweet of you." Patrice said, thinking what bullshit that was.

"So tell us all about Kentucky, how you and Sam met."

"It's a boring story." Sam said. "I met Chi when I lived in Kentucky."

"Okay, that's a start. Chi?"

"Chicago. I'm originally from Chicago, Chi-town. It's a joke. He's Nash from..." she waited for them to fill in the answer.

Blank stares from everybody but Kurt. "Nashville." He said finally. "Why am I the only one that knows that?"

"Okay, but you dated back in Kentucky?"

"Yes, we did." He reached for her hand.

"And why is it you never mentioned her?"

"I don't know, Rachel." he was exasperated. "We don't exactly sit around having heart to hearts, do we? You only just found out two minutes ago where I'm from."

"Did you come here to be with Sam?" Rachel decided to ignore Sam and work on Patrice.

"No, my cousin lives here." She repeated her story for the benefit of the boys even though she figured Rachel had briefed them already. "Alice and Ben McKenna? They both play guitar in the band?"

"There isn't a black boy in the band."

"Yes there is, he danced with you guys at sections."

"You sure?"

"Well, I didn't see the competition but he wouldn't lie about that. You see, that's why I auditioned." She warmed up to her subject. "They figure you guys owe them, Ben and Tim, the other guy who helped you get your numbers up for Sectionals. Otherwise you'd been disqualified. You're grateful for the help, right?" They all looked away guiltily. They didn't even remember those guys names, if they'd ever known them. Maybe there was some moral obligation to them. "And Alice is already dancing with the Troubletones."

"I thought they were all Cheerios."

"Not all of them, she just sneaked in one day and nobody noticed, well Mercedes did but she likes Alice and acted like she'd always been there. So that made me the only one without a ticket to Nationals. Pretty sweet, huh?" She smiled at all of them, her gaze lingering or Sam. "And for the record, I know for a fact his mother is black. She's my aunt."

"Same as me." Rachel was saying. "One of my dads is black. That was lucky, Sam being here."

"Fate, wouldn't you say?" Patrice and Sam grinned at each other.

"So have you met Mercedes?" Finn asked.

"Not yet." She answered, evaluating the tall boy sitting across from her, trying to figure out what that was to him. "Looking forward to it."

"She only lives a couple of blocks away. We could invite her over for desert."

"Damn it, Finn!" Sam stood up. He'd had enough of this. Besides Patrice, the only person at the table he actually liked was Kurt and he could talk to him later. Alone.

"Maybe some other time." Patrice also stood up. "I really need to get home. Thank you very much for dinner."

* * *

><p>"And he didn't get back til midnight!" Kurt reported the next day at school.<p>

"None of my business." Mercedes said, randomly flipping through the history book in front of her. "He has a perfect right to have a girlfriend. I had Shane."

"Shane! A pretty poor consolation prize."

"Hey!"

"Sorry, but the truth's a brutal thing. You could have done so much..." He looked up and saw Patrice standing in the doorway of the library, looking right at them. "You want me to stay and watch your back?"

"What do you think she's going to do? I doubt that she has razor blades hidden in her 'fro. Trust me, I can handle her."

"Hello Kurt. Nice seeing you again." Kurt half smiled at her. "Do you mind if we have some privacy, just a little girl talk between Mercedes and me?"

"Sure," Mercedes answered. "I have some time before an after school club. We can talk there."

* * *

><p>Sometimes When We Touch – Dan Hill<p> 


	2. Whitney? Really?

"I assume you know about the dancing?" Patrice started.

"Yes, Sam told me about it."

"But he didn't mention me. Oh well. He talked about you all the time."

"He did?" Mercedes was surprised.

"Yes, when he first started, he was kind of stiff. He over thought it and worried about the audience. That's a big mistake."

* * *

><p><em>Patrice looked at the young dancer. Patrice was 17 passing for 19, and this new boy looked younger than that. He also looked scared and nervous.<em>

"_Patrice." she held out her hand._

"_Sam, Sam Evans" he said nervously._

"_You must be new. Drop the last name, save yourself a lot of trouble in the long run. If you do well, get really popular, you'll want to use your middle name of something completely made up. You don't want people tracking you down." He looked concerned. "Don't worry about it." she said with a laugh. "Just relax and try to have fun. Think happy thoughts, somebody or someplace that makes you happy. Ignore the crowd."_

"_Have you been dancing long?"_

"_Just a couple of months. I guess that's long because there's a lot of turnover here." he looked at her changing clothes. "There's no privacy here, you'll get used to it. Hand me that dress."_

"_Thank you." she said taking the dress from his hands. Up til now, she'd only been looking at his body since he was sitting there in board shorts and his body was the kind you would look at for a long time. When he handed her the dress she looked at his face. He had a nice smile but god, those eyes!_

"_Anybody ever mention you have gorgeous eyes?"_

_He laughed. "Yes, I've heard that before."_

"_Hold on for a minute." He groaned as she applied eye shadow. "Oh my god! You're gonna make a fortune." she patted him on the ass and sent him on stage._

* * *

><p>"I flirted with him like crazy. I was shameless. But he was all about a girl back home. That's why he danced. He gave most of his money to his folks but some he skimmed off. He was saving to go to Ohio. Well, I knew he was from Tennessee so I thought a girl in Ohio was a lie. I thought he just wasn't interested and was too polite to come out and say it."<p>

* * *

><p>"<em>So Sam." Patrice said shutting off the car after she parked in front of his apartment, dropping him off after work. "We've been working together all summer and not once have you tried to hit on me. Don't you like girls?"<em>

_"I'm straight if that's what you're asking."_

_"So it's just black girls you don't like?"_

_Sam laughed so loudly a man passing by walking his dog stopped and looked. "My girl in Ohio, she's darker than you. She's like chocolate." He held up his hand and gazed at it in the light of the street lamp. "When we hold hands, it's like that Hershey kiss, the one with the white and dark chocolate stripes? Hugs they're called. That's what our hands look like together. She smells like chocolate and coconut and when she kisses me she tastes like cherries. I think it's lip gloss or something but that's what she tastes like. That's why I picked white chocolate, it reminds me of her." He was suddenly embarrassed. "That's stupid. I know." Then he grinned that infectious smile. "She's going to be so surprised."_

"_I thought you broke up before you left." Patrice was sulking at this sudden turn of events. Damn!  
><em>

"_Technicality. I know her, she'll be glad to see me again."_

_"But suppose..." She could see 101 things that could go wrong with his plan.  
><em>

_"She'll be there." He said with confidence.  
><em>

* * *

><p>"Then the school year started. We went to different schools and we both cut back on hours so I didn't see him for a bit. When I did see him again, he was drinking on the job. Big no no for a couple of different reasons."<p>

* * *

><p>"<em>Sam, what the hell? You trying to get fired?"<em>

"_So what if I do?"_

"_What about your family?"_

"_I'll get another job."_

"_What about Ohio?"_

"_Ohio?" he said with a snort, "That's so last June."_

"_What?" Sometimes Sam was like that, rambling off on a tangent._

"_Nothing." He stalked off in the direction of the stage. "I gotta go to work."_

* * *

><p>"He was so angry. It was sad to see and besides, an angry dancer is a starving dancer. Nobody pays to see a pissed-off person. Hell, most of them can do that at home for free. So I gave Sam a few bucks so he didn't have to go home empty handed. Mostly I used my money to buy stuff I wanted, shoes and clothes, so it's not like it killed me to slip him a few bucks. I wanted the money, he needed the money. Big difference. And he couldn't say no, he couldn't show up at home empty-handed without an explanation."<p>

* * *

><p>"<em>Sam, whatever Ohio did or didn't do you better get a grip on yourself. I can't keep giving you money. They're not going to let you stay on if you don't bring in some cash."<em>

_Sam looked at her with puppy dog eyes. "You didn't see it."_

"_It doesn't matter. You broke up. Therefore she's free to do what she wants, and so are you. Okay, so maybe she found somebody. If she's half the girl you described there was bound to be boys chasing her around."_

"_She wasn't like that, the kind of girl guys chased. I didn't mention it before but she was kind of a big girl, not huge but bigger than average. All the other girls she hung out with were skinny. People, guys, didn't pay attention to her. I thought that would stay the same. The whole breaking up was her idea." He rested his head on the dressing room table. "I know her. Or I thought I knew her. She didn't want me to be lonely down her, tied to her up there. She's used to being lonely. She did that for me. Now look! You know what she said?"_

"_Sam, it doesn't matter what she said, whose idea it was. You agreed to break up with her. That gives her the right to say whatever she wants."_

"_Cocoa babies!" He said looking up. "That's what she said. She wants to marry this freaking huge football player and have cocoa babies!"_

"_Sam?"_

"_She definitely won't get cocoa babies from me."_

"_Sam! You had to see this coming. You and your big surprise. As far as she knows you disappeared off the face of the earth. Why didn't you ask her to wait for you? Sounds like she would have if you asked."_

_"Wow." He stared at the half-dressed black girl wearing a blond wig with pig-tails, part of her costume. "That was really helpful, Patrice."_

"_What do you want me to say? Poor baby, can I buy you a beer?" She thought for a minute. "Tell you what, I'll take you to the diner across the street after work. Just focus and try to make some money tonight. Then I'll buy you dinner and you can tell me all about the Ohio heart-breaker."_

* * *

><p>"You see, I was kind of conflicted. On the one hand, Sam's sexy as hell." Patrice and Sam had been having wild and crazy sex for weeks, at least in her fantasies, and here the whole thing was on the verge of coming true. "But on the other hand, he was one hurting puppy and I didn't want to take advantage of him. I mean, that's just not right. So we left it there, I gave him rides to work, sometimes we had coffee at the diner."<p>

"From his reaction it doesn't seem like you left it exactly there."

"Yes, we dated. Like I said, he's sexy and I'm shallow. Once he got over you, or so I thought, we went out. Excuse me for being human. Then all of a sudden he can't get out of town fast enough."

* * *

><p>"<em>What's wrong, baby? Are you mad at me?"<em>

"_No."_

"_Then kiss me like you mean it, boy! Then I've got something new I want to try." She had been wearing a robe when she opened the door to the her sister's apartment where she was house sitting. The robe was quickly dropped and she was stark naked and pulling him to the bedroom._

"_Patrice," He planted his feet firmly, resisting her pull. "There's no easy way to say it so I'll just say it. I'm leaving."_

"_Leaving the club?"_

"_No." He looked into her gold flecked brown eyes. "You know that I've been thinking about it and I decided to go back to Ohio."_

"_What the fuck, Sam! This guy just shows up out of nowhere and now you're leaving?"_

"_Pat, they need me."_

"_What about your family, don't they need you?"_

"_They're okay with it. They want me to finish school up there, have fun my senior year."_

"_I thought you were having fun. I guess that's all you were having. Fun. Was I fun at least?" She bent over to pick up her robe._

_ Her body was truly spectacular, busty with a nice ass, and she'd been a generous and kind girlfriend. Kind of moody but not vicious like Santana and Quinn. And here he was dumping her. "_Patrice, it's not like that."_  
><em>

"_No, it's like going to Ohio! Go! Get out!"_

"_Patrice..."_

"_Get out! Just leave before I start throwing shit. Go to Hell Sam!"_

* * *

><p>"And it wasn't just you. He didn't like to talk about it but things were pretty stressful for him back there, the family financial situation and all. I think he wanted a break, to just enjoy his senior year, and this was his ticket out. By the time I calmed down and went over to talk to him he was gone. Then I got pissed off again and deleted him from my phone and stopped answering his calls."<p>

"Did you know he was here?"

"No. He just said Ohio, not Lima. I came here because my aunt's here. I have a couple of cousins in the band, I always liked Ben and Alice. Sam was just icing on the cake. But I can get more cake. I just wanted you to hear the whole story."

"So you're giving Sam to me? Like he's a sweater you don't want?"

"I definitely want Sam but he's not mine to keep or give away. If he were mine, I'd want him body and soul and somebody's already got a claim on his soul."

"Body and soul? Ella Fitzgerald?"

"Please, girl! Billie Holiday." she rolled her eyes. "Boys aren't so rare that we have to fight over this one, though he is in a class by himself. I'd fight if his heart was up for grabs."

"What does that mean?"

"He never mentioned me to you. He's boring me to tears with stories about your trifling ways after half an hour. And can I just say, Whitney Houston? What the hell where you thinking? You know how literal he is. Couldn't you find a song that said give me a week, I'll be back in a few days if that's what you meant?"

"What makes you think I want him back?" she asked stubbornly. She was still kicking herself over picking that particular song. She'd heard enough about it from Santana, she didn't need to hear it from a stranger.

"You're still sitting here, aren't you? This whole story would have been pointless if you weren't interested in him."

"What about that kiss? That was no 'hey, how ya doing?' kiss."

"That was getting carried away. I was shocked when he walked in. He was surprised to see me. Back in Kentucky, when things were good between us, they were very, very good. That's what we both thought of."

Mercedes did not like the smile on Patrice's face as she thought about how good things had been. "How could you not want him?" she asked softly.

"Damn you're hard-headed. Both of you are. He's not in love with me. If you're not in love with him, after you tell him, in plain English please, let me know and I'll put the moves on him. And I've got the moves, sista!" She laughed so hard Mercedes couldn't help but laugh along. "He said you had a nice laugh. He said he could tell your real laugh from your fake one, how much he loved knowing he was one of the few people who could make you really laugh."

Sam and a white boy with dreads walked in to the sound of the two girls laughing. Patrice looked dreads up and down, a girl needs to keep her options open and she liked what she saw. She didn't especially care for dreads on white guys but maybe he's mixed or something like her cousins.

"So what is this club?" Patrice asked.

"God Squad. Wanna join?" Mercedes asked.

"God? No, me and God don't get along." Joe and Mercedes both looked at her in shock. "My dad's a minister, biggest church in Louisville. He didn't exactly set the best example of godly behavior." She jumped up and headed toward the door. "Hey Sam, still on for tonight?"

"Sure, we're still on." He squeezed her arm as she passed.

"Okay. Call me if something changes before then. Excuse me." she said, brushing past Joe.

"Nice hair." he mumbled, staring at the black girl wearing leotards and a scarf wrapped around her hips.

"Back at ya." She smiled her sexiest smile, the one that always got a good tip. Damn, she needed to break that habit. "And Sam, you can bring a friend if you want."

She using her phone as a mirror, trying to see if Joe was watching her walk down the hall, when she almost ran over Santana. "Let's talk." Santana said, linking arms. Britt linked arms on the other side.

"Ohhh! It's a dream come true!" Although straight, Patrice was an equal opportunity flirt. "I think I'm gonna like it here."


	3. Let Him Fly

Patrice was prepared for round 2 with Miss Lopez. What she wasn't prepared for was the person waiting in the classroom the two girls pulled her into, the boy sitting there giving her the worlds creepiest smile. For a second she blanked on his name, Kirk? No, that's not right.

"Hello, Kurt. I'm kind of surprised to see you here."

"We didn't really get a chance to talk last night." He looked past her at Britt and Santana. "Santana likes drama. Thanks for escorting Patrice. I think the two of us can handle it from here."

"I don't know, Kurt." the Latina replied.

"It's not like she has razor blades hidden in her hair." Kurt said softly. Kurt had barely said a world last night and Patrice was fascinated by his voice, she'd never heard a boy sound like that. Plus, last night he'd come across as soft, feminine. Today he's acting like the evil mastermind in a 1940's crime drama, complete with henchmen. He even dressed the part, in a tight pin-striped suit and running shoes, just in case he had to make a quick escape out the window or something. There was a freaking fedora sitting on the table in front of him. Between the way he was dressed and his voice he was more terrifying than Santana.

What had Sam said about Kurt? That's right, Kurt was one of the few people Sam really trusted. Kurt was the boy in the Prom Queen story. Patrice relaxed and sauntered over to a seat near Kurt. Santana and Brittany settled on the other side of the classroom and within minutes were kissing.

"I know this sounds ridiculous." Kurt started. "But what exactly is your relationship with Sam? I'm not being nosy, it's Mercedes." As if that explained everything.

"What is she, crazy? Does she want the boy or not? It's no wonder he's confused, she's even more confused than he is."

"Truthfully? Mercedes acts like she can't believe that Sam would choose her over you. Over anybody really. She thinks he's out of her league. She thinks Shane's the best she can do."

"I met Shane. She did damned good catching him. He's sweet in the way Sam is sweet and he's quiet, something Sam most definitely is not. But let me ask you something, didn't anybody wonder why? Why she went so far in the other direction?"

"Not really. I didn't see much of her over the summer and when the school year started there he was. And I mean constantly, there he was. She kept insisting she was happy, didn't miss Sam a bit. If you pressed her she just shut down."

"And what do you think? Sam said you see things other people miss."

"He did?" Kurt seemed very pleased about that. "I think...well, I said I didn't see much of her over the summer?" He looked down, studying his nails. "Well I hadn't seen much of her the whole previous year. And Sam, he was a secret until right before he left. She didn't come out and tell me about it, I saw them out once. By the time she admitted they were dating he was getting ready to leave."

"Why? Why all the secrecy? Black and white kids date here."

"Like I said, I imagine she doesn't think she deserves Sam. If it was public, somebody might notice and take Sam away. That's how she explained it anyway."

"And she thought it would that easy for somebody to take him away from her?" Patrice thought for a minute. "You asked me about my relationship with Sam? Well, it's complicated. You know how you can be school friends but not home friends? Like you hang out in the cafeteria but you'd never invite that person home for dinner? Well, for a long time Sam and I were like that."

* * *

><p><em>Patrice looked at her phone. 8Pm and a phone call from Sam. She tried to remember if she had offered him a ride, she hoped not because she wasn't working tonight.<em>

"_Sam, shit! Was I supposed to give you a ride to work?"_

"_No, I'm not working tonight."_

"_Oh, that's a relief cause I'd never make it in time. What do you need?"_

"_Nothing, I just wanted to talk to you."_

"_Talk to me?" Now she was really confused. "About what? Did Ohio do something else to piss you off?" _

"_Um, no. I wanted to know if you could go out Friday night."_

"_Like on a date?"_

"_Yes, a date." There was silence on the other end so he rushed on. "I know you don't like to mix the job with real life, as you call it, but I thought maybe in this case we could just draw a line between the two. We could go on a date like high school kids." Continued silence. "You still there?"_

"_Yes. I'm still here. I have to work Friday."_

"_Oh. Okay." He tried to his his disappointment. "Well, I'll see you at work."_

"_Wait a minute. This is a different job. It's not a job really, more a favor for a friend. I'm only working for a half hour, maybe less. I'll pick you up and we can have a date when I'm done."_

_Sam recognized her car before he recognized Patrice. Normally Patrice wore her hair pulled back because she performed in a wig and every time he'd seen her before she was wearing a fair amount of makeup. Today her hair was in loose natural curls and getting in the car he noticed she wasn't wearing makeup. She looked like a 17 year old girl, which she was.  
><em>

"_You look nice." he said._

"_Thanks. You look nice too. Ready to roll?"_

"_Yep. Hey, is that a guitar in the back seat?"_

"_Yes. You play?"_

"_Yes. I used to play."_

"_Why did you stop?"_

"_I don't have a guitar anymore. Circumstances beyond my control."_

"_You can borrow one of mine. Are you any good? I mean, how far did you get before you stopped playing?"_

"_I was good. And I sang to. My school choir went to a national competition."_

"_Oh, a man of many talents!" she said flirtatiously. "Tell you what, we can stop by my house, pick up a guitar, and you can play with me tonight. That's what I'm doing, helping out a friend at a coffehouse. One set, up to 5 songs, and then we're out of there. Unless you want to stay and hear the rest. Shit, I just assumed you wanted to play in public. Do you mind?"_

"_No, I'd like that."_

_Sam had always assumed Patrice was poor, that she danced to pay bills. Now he wondered if she lived in the mansion she just pulled into or if that was another of her jobs. _

"_Give me a minute." She parked in the circular driveway, her Kia next to various luxury cars already there, and ran in. Minutes later she reappeared with a guitar case._

"_My friend, Max, runs this non-profit and he's doing a fundraiser. I'm playing the second set so we should be out in a hour. Unless you want to stay. There's five of us and Max is playing last. He's good, really good, but I've heard him lots of times. Up to you."_

"_You live here?"_

"_Yes." she seemed embarrassed. "That's chez Greene."_

"_Looks like a nice house."_

"_I'll give you the grand tour sometime. Might as well, we won't be there much longer though."_

"Oh?"

"__My mom and I are moving out in a couple of months._ My parents are getting divorced. My dad's staying there, keeping up appearance don't cha know. "_

"_I'm sorry to hear that."_

"_Shit happens." She obviously didn't want to discuss it any further. "Anyway, what kind of music do you play?"_

"_Pop and country, old time country music." she looked over at him. "Originally I'm from Nashville. Can't help but hear country music down there."_

"_Old time country as in Willie Nelson, stuff like that?"_

"_Correct."_

"_Excellent! Do you know Cold Cold Heart?"_

"_Twangy like Hank Williams or bluesy like Norah Jones?"_

"_I don't have steel strings so tone down the twang."_

* * *

><p>"Cold Cold Heart. That was the first song we ever sang together. Ironic, '<em>There was a time when I believed that you belonged to me but now I know your heart is shackled to a memory<em>'. Shackled. I bet Shane felt the same way. It's so clear when you see them together. That's why it's so frustrating. It's like they stay up nights thinking of what asshole thing to do next. She had a boyfriend, he knew that and yet he came up here and pressured her to do something they both knew was wrong. And her, why didn't she just say she needed time to think? That he would have understood."

"And then there's you." Kurt added, his icy blue eyes meeting hers.

"Ant then there's me." she agreed. "Yeah, I wanted him when I saw him again but Sam's a friend. He was a friend before we dated, we can be friends again. That'll work. I'm not waiting around for him to make up his mind. If he listened to his heart this whole thing would be over already." She eyed at Kurt and calculated. "Do you play the guitar?"

"No, I just sing. Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Sam said you're good, really good. That you have a crazy falsetto?"

"I wouldn't call it crazy." he said with a proud smile. Patrice was getting used to his smile, it didn't seem so odd anymore.

"Great. Can you meet me here" she scribbled an address on a piece of paper "at 8 tonight. Bring Mercedes." she started to leave. "And that guy with the dreads if you can."

"Joe from the God Squad?"

"Joe?" she said, trying out the name. "Okay. Whatever it takes bring Mercedes. If you can bring Joe, that would be icing on the cake. Just don't bring Rachel, Finn or Blaine." He looked disappointed about not bringing Blaine. "I'm sorry but Sam doesn't particularly like Blaine. That 'sex for sale' comment. He doesn't hate him for it but what I have in mind will work better without unnecessary distractions. And he figures Finn's the one that told Blaine. Rachel, he doesn't dislike her, he just thinks she's bossy."

"I understand." he said softly.

"Whoa!" Santana reminded them she was still there and had been paying attention to the conversation. "I'm not sending Kurt and Mercedes off on some secret mission without protection. Maybe this is your plan to eliminate the competition."

"It's a good thing I like you." She smiled at Santana. "You guys can come. But that's it! This ain't no New Directions party."

* * *

><p>"You know I hate surprises, Kurt." Mercedes whined. "If it hadn't been for somebody 'surprising' me by showing up out of the blue I'd be a happy woman today."<p>

"Would you?"

"Yes I would." she pouted. "I don't why you're always hating on Shane. Maybe if I had a little more support from my friends..."

"Maybe. Or maybe if you'd let people know what was going on with you things would have worked out differently. Like if you'd answered directly when I asked you how you felt about Sam leaving. But no, you're 'peachy' and then you run out and grab the total opposite of Sam, hoping that will help you forget him."

"Thank you, Dr. Phil."

"Mercedes, I love you, you know I do. But it's driving me mad, watching you pile one bad decision on another. You're just digging a hole, deeper and deeper. Put down the shovel." He gave her the smile she could never resist. "It'll be fun. Plus, Santana and Britt will be there."

**later that night**

"Enter at your own risk, guitarists at work."

The Kurt, Mercedes and Joe pushed aside the curtain and entered the back room of McKenna's coffeehouse. Santana and Britt bailed when Patrice assured her the plan didn't involve chainsaws and a midnight trip to the county landfill so it was just the three of them, four if you counted Joe's guitar.

There were a few customers in the back room but most of the room was being used by five guitarists were sitting around practicing. Alice, Ben and Tim – all band kids, Patrice and Sam. Sam looked up, smiled and then remembered to assume that guarded expression he wore around Mercedes. He frowned at Patrice.

"Sam, it's a public place. Can't expect them to swear out a restraining order against the girl, can we? Grab a chair" she signaled them to come closer. "As I understand it, you guys can't just tell a person what you think, you have to sing it. So I have a song for Sam." She started playing a sad country tune.

Ain't no talkin' to this man  
>Ain't no pretty other side<br>Ain't no way to understand the stupid words of pride  
>It would take an acrobat, and I already tried all that so<br>I'm gonna let him fly

Things can move at such a pace  
>The second hand just waved goodbye<br>You know the light has left his face  
>But you can't recall just where or why<br>So there was really nothing to it  
>I just went and cut right through it<br>I said I'm gonna let him fly

"Now Sam, what that means, exactly, is we're back to the friend part of our story. Sorry, Nash, but I'm off limits." She hoped Joe was paying attention. He was currently opening his guitar case so she couldn't see his face.

"I would have never guessed public humiliation was your style." Sam said glumly.

"This isn't all that public and with the possible exception of Joe, everybody knows what's going on here. No, wait! You and Mercedes seem surprisingly clueless."

Mercedes glared at Kurt. He is so going to pay for this. "I saw your surprise. Sam and Patrice are no longer dating. It's official. Can we go now?"

"Sure," he said, smiling happily. "But one last thing. Patrice asked me to sing with her, and you know me. I can't say no to a microphone."

* * *

><p>Let Him Fly – Patty Griffin (or Dixie Chicks cover)<p>

Note: We're on the home stretch - one chapter left. Course I thought there would only be three chapters so there you go!


	4. Stop, Look, Listen

Kurt bounded to the front of the room, grabbed the microphone and started to sing. Damn, Mercedes thought, he's never seen a microphone he didn't want to make love to.

_You're alone all the time_  
><em>Does it ever puzzle you, did you ask why<em>  
><em>You seem to fall in love, and out again<em>  
><em>Do you ever really love or just pretend<em>

_Oh, baby why fool yourself_  
><em>Don't be afraid to help yourself<em>  
><em>It's never too late, too late to<em>

_Stop, look_  
><em>Listen to your heart, hear what it's saying<em>  
><em>Stop, look<em>  
><em>And listen to your heart, hear what it's saying<em>  
><em>Love, love, love<em>

Sam had been forced, against his will, to sit next to Mercedes and listen to this song. Mercedes was taking turns glaring at Kurt and Sam.

"This is wasn't my idea." she said under her breath. "You know that, don't you?"

"Not my idea either. I can't believe I know so many bossy girls. Patrice used to be so understanding."

"You including me in that count?"

"Not exactly bossy. I don't know the word for you." He started to smiled and then remembered not to.

"Understanding." she huffed. "That's a good one! You used to be so understanding. I could tell you anything and you knew what I meant, how I felt. Now, it's all about you and what you want."

"What I want? You stood there and dumped me, in front of everybody. At least with Santana it wasn't so bad. I didn't..." he slammed on the brakes and reversed. "The way Santana just acted like she forgot I was sitting there. I expect that from her. But you, you pulled out the big guns. It would have hurt less if you'd just hauled off and hit me."

"You didn't what?" She was curious.

"I didn't what? What?" He was evasive.

"You started to say with Santana you didn't...you didn't what?"

"Nothing." He focused on Patrice who was singing now.

_Though you try, you can't hide  
>All the things you really feel, this time decide<br>That you will open up, and let it in  
>There's no shame in sharing love you feel within<em>

_So darling, just jump right in_  
><em>Head over heels, and fall right in<em>  
><em>'Cause it's never too late too late to<em>

_Stop, look  
>And listen to your heart, hear what it's saying<br>Stop, look  
>And listen to your heart, hear what it's saying<br>Love, love, love_

"I didn't love her. Okay, I said it. I love you."

"And not Patrice?" Mercedes wasn't buying it.

"That line got blurred but I love her like you love Kurt. Not in the romantic sense, the sitting on a park bench watching the sun rise sense." He grinned at her. "The watching the sun set at the lake sense. The 'I'll watch Dreamgirls if you watch Avatar' sense. The feeling like you just stepped off the tilt-a-whirl sense. There's only one girl I love like that."

"But the not so good stuff..." She wished he'd stop grinning at her. It was distracting.

"Life is like that, good stuff and not so good stuff all mixed together." He interrupted. "You just have to pile on as much good stuff as you can so it makes the bad stuff bearable. Didn't we have a lot of good times? Don't they count for anything? I know our second start wasn't a good one but we can fix it. We can make this something we survived, something that made us stronger. Something we'll tell the babies. The caramel babies."

She laughed that Sam was able to make a joke, it must have hurt him to hear about cocoa babies on that video. But on the other hand, "Sam, I don't know..."

"Listen, we're practicing until 10. I'll be home by 10:15. Call me at 10:30. Promise you'll call me, one way or the other? I just need to know if we're going to try to make each other happy or not. Yes or no."

**2am that morning**

Patrice groggily reached for the phone.

"Hey, it's me."

"Sam? Are you in trouble, bleeding in a ditch somewhere?"

"No, I just wanted to..."

"You need to get bailed out of jail?"

"No, I'm home. I just..."

"You're gonna wish you were in the hospital, calling me in the middle of the night! What do yo want?"

"I just got off the phone with Mercedes."

"And?"

"She's still not sure." he sighed, "I don't know what to do."

"Okay, Sam, I'm too tired to play games. Are you sure Mercedes ever loved you?"

"What? Of course she did!"

"Okay then. You already know how to make her fall in love with you. Just do that again and she'll fall in love with you again."

"I don't get it."

"Sleep on it, it'll make sense in the morning. And if you get the urge to call me again, first look out the window. Don't call me unless you see daylight."

"But Patrice..."

"The only advice I can give you is to skip that secret girlfriend shit this time round. That's bullshit."

"That was her idea."

"Her bullshit idea. Tell her that's a deal breaker. Now Nash, the next sound you'll hear will be the dial tone. Go to sleep." She hung up and turned off her phone.

* * *

><p>Kurt groggily reached for the phone.<p>

"Hey, Kurt. You said I could call you anytime." Mercedes half-whispered. "You weren't asleep were you?"

"Asleep?" What else would he be doing in the middle of the night? "No, I wasn't asleep."

"Thanks for lying about that."

"Anytime. How did it go with Sam?"

"Okay."

"And you called me," Shit, it was 2am! "just to tell me things went okay?"

"Kinda sorta." She sounded on the edge of tears.

"Okay, I'm really awake now. Tell me all about it."

"I'm so scared Kurt."

"Scared of Sam?"

"I can't figure out what he wants. I mean, he could be with anybody."

"Maybe he wants to be with you."

"Hah!"

"Mercedes, look at the girls he turned down to be with you. Patrice, Quinn. Maybe he turned down pretty for what he sees is beautiful. You're what he wants."

"How can that be true?"

"How can somebody like Blaine want me? That's how love works. Do you want him?"

"I don't know."

"If the answer was no you'd know easily enough." He looked at the clock, 2:30. "Why don't you sleep on it? The only person you need to convince is yourself."

* * *

><p><strong>Next day at school<strong>

"Hello, Mercedes." Sam was leaning against her locker, a lazy smile playing on his lips.

"Hey, Sam." she slammed her locker shut. "About last night..."

"Don't worry about it. If you need more time, you need more time. I just wondered if you drove today."

"Drove? Yes, I drove today. Why?"

"Well, I thought maybe we'd go off-campus for lunch."

"Lunch?"

"Yes. Let's go out to lunch. Just lunch, not a date or anything. Just a couple of friends grabbing a bite to eat."

"Okay." He was so up to something.

* * *

><p>"Turn left here."<p>

"Sam, where are we going? We've already passed six fast food places."

"You'll see in a minute. Make a right turn here."

"Sam!" She recognized the road now, the road she'd been avoiding since June. The road to the lake. "The snack shack is closed for the winter."

"That's okay, I brought lunch."

"Are we eating in the car?"

"No, it's nice out. We should go down to the pier."

"My dress will get dirty."

"No it won't. I brought a picnic blanket." he patted his backpack.

Out of excuses, she pulled into the familiar parking lot. "You have lunch and a blanket in there? It's like the inside is bigger than the outside!"

"Exactly, Miss Jones!" He ran around and opened her car door. "Shall we?"

"You know we'll never get back to school in time for next period."

"I can live with that."

They walked down the path to the pier. At one point a tree had fallen across the gravel trail. Sam jumped over the tree and offered his hand to help her scramble over. She tried to let go of his hand on the other side but Sam held on. She smiled and they held hands the rest of the way.

They spread out the blanket in a spot where they could see the lake and some parents and children playing on the swings. That's why they started coming to the lake, so Stevie and Stacey would use the playground. Then they started coming without Stevie and Stacey and staying to watch the sunset. They they started staying long after the sun had set.

"I got your favorite." Sam pulled a sandwich from his bag with a flourish. "Peanut butter and jelly, cut in the shape of a dinosaur."

"Aww, that's so romantic!"

"You said you loved that. I used to think you only said it because that's all we had. Oh well, there's always plan B, curried chicken salad on a croissant."

"Now that's what I'm talking about!"

Mercedes had never ditched school before but here she was, 2 in the afternoon, laying on a blanket in the park, holding Sam's hand, staring at the clouds drifting by and making up stories. Stories about a boy who thought being popular was the most important thing in the world. Stories about a girl who was sad and lonely. A boy was depressed and angry because he was poor. A girl who thought nobody could ever love her. Stories about going away and coming home. Stories about happily ever after.

* * *

><p>"Did I fall asleep?" Sam woke to Mercedes sitting next to him, staring at him.<p>

"Just for a few minutes."

"Sorry, it's not that you were boring me. Just tired."

"It's okay. I was just watching you sleep. I've never done that before. It's weird."

"What, do I drool in my sleep?"

"No. Sometimes I imagined what it would be like, watching you sleep, and it's just weird to actually see it. That's all."

"Oh."

"While I was sitting here, watching you sleep, I decided something."

"Really?" he could tell by the way her eyes shone what she had decided. He suddenly realized how much he'd missed that spark in her eyes.

"Guess!" she teased.

"You decided to go to Paris and learn to cook?"

"Guess again."

"You decided to go to Argentina and learn to tango?"

"Last guess."

"You decided to go out with a poor boy with a heart full of love for you?"

"First I have to see if he still knows how to kiss."

The kiss in the auditorium was a blip on the radar, something that could have gone unnoticed if it wasn't for all the trouble it caused. The kiss Patrice got was a pretty good kiss, full of longing and loneliness. The kiss Mercedes gave him was the tilt-a-whirl, a roller-coaster and promises of more to come all wrapped up in one. Sam was glad he was laying down or he might have passed out from the wave of passion behind that kiss.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!"

* * *

><p><strong>At practice after school<strong>

"So how did it go on your end?" Patrice asked, sliding into an empty seat in the choir room next to Kurt.

"Impossible to tell. Driving home she was all stone-faced, then she started ranting about folks minding her business. That's good, I think, that she was talking and not sulking. Then it was 10ish and she's like Cinderella, rushing home before she turns into a pumpkin."

"Sam did the same thing. 10 o'clock on the dot, he had homework to get done. Like he cares about homework. Then he woke me up in the middle of the night.

"So did she. Ruined my beauty sleep."

He was looking pretty beautiful, better than most girls, but Patrice didn't say it. Instead she asked, "By the way, have you seen him today?"

"We all rode in together." Kurt tried to remember the last time he saw Sam. "Haven't seen him since."

"Cinderella has been MIA most of the day too." Santana added. "Saw her in the cafeteria this morning then pouf – like a puff of smoke she disappeared."

The glee club watched as Sam and Mercedes sauntered in, holding hands but otherwise acting like it was any other day. They sat down in the front row.

Patrice leaned forward and pulled a leaf from Mercedes' hair. She looked at it and passed it to Kurt with a quizzical expression. Kurt looked at the leaf and shrugged. Santana took the leaf from his hand.

"Mountain laurel." She announced. "Behind the pavilion down by the lake. Good times! But you gotta watch out, it's right in the middle of that big patch of poison ivy."

"Sam!" Mercedes squealed. "I told you that was poison ivy! How am I gonna explain that?"

"That wasn't poison ivy!" Sam insisted. "I know what poison ivy looks like."

"My bad." Santana said, "That's right, it's just regular ivy."

"Santana!" Mr. Schuester called out. "Do you have something you want to share with the class?"

"No." Then she remembered she was talking to a teacher. "No sir. But I think Sam does."

"Sam?"

"As a matter of fact, I do!" He stood up and started singing.

_Oh, her eyes, her eyes, make the stars look like they're not shining_  
><em>Her hair, her hair, falls perfectly without her trying<em>  
><em>She's so beautiful, and I tell her every day<em>

_Yeah, I know, I know, when I compliment her she won't believe me_  
><em>And it's so, it's so sad to think that she don't see what I see<em>  
><em>But every time she asks me, "Do I look okay?" I say<em>

_When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change_  
><em>'Cause you're amazing just the way you are<em>  
><em>And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for awhile<em>  
><em>'Cause girl you're amazing just the way you are, yeah<em>

_Her lips, her lips, I could kiss them all day if she'd let me_  
><em>Her laugh, her laugh, she hates but I think it's so sexy<em>  
><em>She's so beautiful, and I tell her every day<em>

_Oh, you know, you know, you know I'd never ask you to change_  
><em>If perfect's what you're searching for then just stay the same<em>  
><em>So don't even bother asking if you look okay, you know I'll say<em>

_When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change_  
><em>'Cause you're amazing just the way you are<em>  
><em>And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for awhile<em>  
><em>'Cause girl you're amazing just the way you are<em>

_The way you are_  
><em>The way you are<em>  
><em>Girl you're amazing just the way you are<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>The End!<strong>_

Stop, Look, Listen to Your Heart – Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross

Just The Way You Are – Bruno Mars


End file.
